Department for Transport

Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

lord kennedy of southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to increase the number of electric vehicle charging points in England.

baroness vere of norbiton: The Government and industry have supported the installation of over 17,000 devices providing over 24,000 publicly available chargepoints. This includes over 2,500 rapid chargepoints – one of the largest networks in Europe. Our grant schemes and our £400m public-private Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund (CIIF) will see thousands more electric vehicle chargepoints installed across the UK with the first £70 million of the CIIF delivering another 3,000 rapid chargepoints by 2024. Along with the private sector, the Government will invest £1 billion in charging infrastructure – making sure that everyone is within 30 miles of a rapid charging station for electric vehicles. The Government consulted on proposals for chargepoints to be installed with all newly built homes in England, where appropriate. Highways England has a commitment of £15m to ensure there are chargepoints (rapid where possible) every 20 miles on 95% of the Strategic Road Network by 2020. In July 2019 work commenced to determine a vision for a core rapid charger network on England’s strategic road network. The Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) will set out a vision in early 2020 for a core infrastructure network of rapid and high powered chargepoints along England’s key road network. In January, OLEV announced the doubling of the value of the On-street Residential Charging Scheme to £10 million to support chargepoints for motorists who do not have off-street parking.

Trains: Wheelchairs

lord kennedy of southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve the accessibility of trains for wheelchair users.

baroness vere of norbiton: Mandatory accessibility standards for trains have been in force since 1999. In that time over 9,400 new vehicles that offer wheelchair spaces, wheelchair passenger call-for-aid devices, boarding ramps and accessible toilets (where there are toilets offered on board) have been brought in to service for mainline services. A further 4,167 trains have been refurbished to offer these features. Over the coming months the small number of trains without dedicated wheelchair spaces will complete the necessary upgrades, meaning all mainline trains will offer compliant spaces for the safe and comfortable carriage of wheelchair passengers.

Taxis: Wheelchairs

lord kennedy of southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to improve the accessibility of taxis for wheelchair users.

baroness vere of norbiton: The Government is committed to developing an inclusive transport system which disabled people, including wheelchair users, can use easily and confidently. It is vital that taxis and private hire vehicle services play their role in ensuring that wheelchair users have the same access to public transport as everyone else. The previous Government’s response to the Task and Finish Group report on taxi and private hire vehicle (PHV) licensing, set out its commitment to taking action to ensure that taxi and PHV drivers receive disability awareness training. This remains the Government’s position. In the meantime, later in the year we propose to issue for consultation revised best practice guidance for local licensing authorities, which will include strengthened recommendations on supporting an inclusive service.

Electric Vehicles

baroness randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the anticipated uptake of electric vehicles by 2040; and what plansthey have to ensure that such uptake targets are met.

baroness randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce additional incentives to encourage the uptake of electric vehicles; and when they intend to put those plans in place.

baroness vere of norbiton: Earlier this month the Prime Minister announced a consultation on bringing forward the end to the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles to 2035, or earlier if a faster transition appears feasible, as well as including hybrids for the first time. This reflects the advice from the Committee on Climate Change – to make sure that the UK meets its net zero by 2050 commitments. As part of the consultation, we are asking what the accompanying package of support will need to be to enable the transition and minimise the impacts on consumers and businesses across the UK, building on the significant demand and supply side measures already in place. We plan to conclude the consultation in the summer. We are currently investing nearly £1.5bn‎ between April 2015 and March 2021, with grants available for electric cars, vans, lorries, buses, taxis and motorcycles, as well schemes to support charge point infrastructure at homes and workplaces and on residential streets.

Motor Vehicles: Exhaust Emissions

baroness randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the anticipated impact by 2040 on total greenhouse gas emissions in the UK from Government measures to reduce emissions from vehicles; whether there are interim emissions targets in place; and if so, what they are.

baroness vere of norbiton: The Transport Decarbonisation Plan, announced last year, will be published later this year. Ahead of that, a call for engagement, setting the scale of the challenge, will include the department’s forecasts of emissions based on current policies. We already recognise the need to go further than current plans, as shown by the announcement earlier this month on new cars and vans.In that announcement, the Prime Minister set out a consultation on bringing forward the end to the sale of new petrol and diesel vehicles to 2035, or earlier if a faster transition appears feasible. This reflects the advice from the Committee on Climate Change – to make sure that the UK meets its net zero by 2050 commitments. The consultation’s purpose will be to identify what the accompanying package of support will need to be to enable the transition and minimise the impacts on consumers and businesses across the UK, building on the significant demand and supply side measures already in place. We plan to conclude the consultation in the summer.

Electric Vehicles

baroness randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what increases in electric supply they envisage in order to meet any increased electricity demand across the UK from electric vehicles.

baroness vere of norbiton: The electricity market is already set up to promote investment in generation capacity to meet demand; for example, the Contracts for Difference scheme facilitates significant investment in low-carbon generation. We are confident that the grid will be able to cope with increased demand from electric vehicles. ‘Smart’ charging of electric vehicles can reduce demands from electric vehicle charging at peak times by building in flexibility. The Government has taken powers in the Automated and Electric Vehicles Act to mandate that all chargepoints sold or installed in the UK must be smart enabled, and we have recently consulted on secondary regulations. The Government is engaging with Ofgem and industry to ensure demand from electric vehicles can be accommodated.

Motorways: Electric Vehicles

baroness randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the case for the provision ofnew facilities on smart motorways in order to ensure the safety of electric vehicles in the event of breakdown.

baroness vere of norbiton: We want our roads to be as safe as possible. That is why the Secretary of State asked the Department to carry out an evidence stocktake to gather the facts about the safety of smart motorways and make recommendations. The Department will present the findings of the stocktake shortly.While I would not want to pre-judge the results of that work, what I can say is that we will continue to prioritise improving safety – making conditions safer for everyone on our roads. I will write to you as soon as the stocktake is completed to answer your specific questions.

Sunderland Station

lord shipley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to provide funding for a new railway station building in Sunderland.

baroness vere of norbiton: The North East city region has been shortlisted for a share of £1.22bn from the second tranche of the Government’s Transforming Cities Fund. A new station building in Sunderland is part of their proposal. The Department is currently reviewing TCF submissions received from all twelve shortlisted city regions and a decision on the allocation of funding is expected in March 2020.

Tyne and Wear Metro: Sunderland

lord shipley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential merits of extending the Tyne and Wear Metro to Doxford International Business Park in Sunderland.

lord shipley: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether funding announced by the Department for Transport on 28 January to assess the feasibility of re-opening railway lines will include a study into re-opening the Leamside line between Sunderland, Washington, Houghton-le-Spring and Pelaw.

baroness vere of norbiton: As part of its Continuous Modular Strategic Planning work on long term strategy for the rail network, Network Rail is assessing what is required to make sure that the rail network between York and Newcastle meets the needs of passengers and freight users in the coming decades. This study is considering the potential role of reinstatement of the Leamside line in meeting those needs, including for local connectivity through extension of the Tyne and Wear local conventional rail or Metro network. It will make recommendations for further option development.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

baroness miller of chilthorne domer: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to introduce a requirement that drones display a licence number on the side of the drone, clear enough to be identified through binoculars, that could be reported to the Civil Aviation Authority if users do not comply with the Drone and Model Aircraft Code.

baroness vere of norbiton: Since the end of November 2019, operators of SUA from 250g up to 20kg need to register with the CAA and their ID number needs to be displayed on the aircraft. In most cases this will be clearly visible on the outside of the aircraft. However, it is important to be proportionate, therefore in some cases the number may be contained within a compartment that can be easily accessed without using a tool.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Egypt: Prisoners

lord hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to work towards a Council of Europe démarche regarding the issue of prisoners, both convicted and untried, in Egypt.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: Egypt is not a member state of the Council of Europe and the decisions of the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers generally focus on the Council of Europe membership. Nevertheless, the organisation plays a prominent role in promoting the humane treatment of offenders and decent prison conditions. The treatment of prisoners, both convicted and untried, in Egypt is an important concern of the UK. We regularly urge the Egyptian authorities to ensure that all detainees are treated in accordance with international human rights standards. During Egypt's Universal Periodic Review in the United Nations Human Rights Council in November 2019, we called upon the Egyptian government to ensure access to medical care and family visits in prisons, and to release all those detained for exercising the right to freedom of expression. The Foreign Secretary recently raised human rights issues with his Egyptian counterpart at the UK-Africa Investment Summit.

Ministry of Justice

Suicide: Gambling

the lord bishop of st albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to amend the list of circumstances in which a registered medical professional has a duty to notify a relevant senior coroner of a death to include suicide as a result of problem gambling.

lord keen of elie: Under the Notification of Deaths Regulations 2019, registered medical practitioners are required to notify the coroner of a death in specified circumstances, which include cases of suspected self-harm or where the cause of death is unknown. As part of the notification process, the medical practitioner must tell the coroner which of the specified circumstances they believe apply to the death. The guidance for registered medical practitioners (published in September 2019 and available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/notification-of-deaths-regulations-2019-guidance) makes clear that, in most cases, the practitioner should provide the coroner with a detailed narrative explanation of the likely cause of death.In practice, therefore, a requirement already exists for cases of suspected suicide – which would include suicide as a result of problem gambling – to be notified to the coroner and, consequently, the Government has no plans to amend the 2019 Regulations in this regard.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Weedkillers

lord lucas: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the reasons for the changes made in the prospective regulations for the use of asulam in 2020; and what alternative means of controlling bracken will be available in species-rich environments in lowland England.

lord gardiner of kimble: Asulam is an herbicide active substance that has been used for a number of years to control bracken in the form of the formulated product “Asulox”. All uses of herbicides are subject to strict regulation to protect people and the environment on the basis of a scientific risk assessment. The usual regulatory process involves approval of the active substance followed by authorisation of the product. However, asulam is not currently approved and so the use of Asulox to control bracken requires an application each year for so-called emergency authorisation. Emergency authorisation requires: a strong case for the importance of bracken control; a strong case that there are no alternatives to asulam use; ensuring that the use of asulam will be limited and controlled; and providing appropriate levels of protection for people and for the environment. The application for use of Asulox this year has been assessed by the Health and Safety Executive, which concluded that restrictions were necessary. These include a buffer zone to protect aquatic organisms and a restriction to allow aerial application only. Ground-based application has not been allowed as alternative products containing amidosulfuron are available for this purpose. Amidosulfuron products are authorised for use where bracken is present on grassland (which includes moorland and rough grazing). Bracken can also be controlled by mechanical methods such as cutting, crushing and rolling.

Weedkillers

lord lucas: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to undertakean independent assessment of the safety of asulam before the 2021 spraying season.

lord gardiner of kimble: Applications to use asulam to control bracken are considered afresh each year. The assessment involves consideration of the need for use of asulam, ensuring that the use will be limited and controlled, and ensuring the protection of people and the environment. The assessment is carried out by the Health and Safety Executive with advice from the independent UK Expert Committee on Pesticides. This process will apply to any application received for the use of asulam in 2021.

Home Office

Slavery: Prosecutions

lord bourne of aberystwyth: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure effective prosecution of those guilty of modern slavery offences.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: To ask Her Majesty's Government how they cooperate with other states to ensure the effective prosecution of those guilty of modern slavery offences.

baroness williams of trafford: The Government is committed to tackling the heinous crime of modern slavery and bringing those individuals responsible both in the UK and overseas to justice. There has been a significant increase in operational law enforcement activity to tackle modern slavery over the last few years and we are seeing an increase in the number of prosecutions brought and convictions secured.However as modern slavery is a complex and multi-faceted crime, some modern slavery offenders may be prosecuted for offences that are not specifically modern slavery offences. We continue to work closely with criminal justice partners to improve the effectiveness of modern slavery investigations to help increase the overall number of prosecutions.The UK also participates in Joint Investigation Teams which bring together judicial and law enforcement partners in relevant countries, where possible, to investigate and prosecute modern slavery cases.

Female Genital Mutilation

baroness bennett of manor castle: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the answer by Baroness Sugg on 6 February (HL Deb, col 1885), how many claims for asylum have been made by (1) women and girls at risk of female genital mutilation (FGM), and (2) anti-FGM campaigners, in each of the last 10 years; and how many such claims (a) have been accepted, (b) have been rejected, and (c) are awaiting a decision.

baroness williams of trafford: The Home Office does not record the basis of claims in a way that can be easily aggregated so cannot provide figures on how many asylum claims have been made by (1) women and girls at risk of female genital mutilation (FGM), and (2) anti-FGM campaigners, in each of the last 10 years; and how many such claims (a) have been accepted, (b) have been rejected, and (c) are awaiting a decision.However, the Home Office does publish data on the number of cases concluded by gender. This data can be found at Asy_05/06/06q/07, of the published Transparency data: August 2019: www.gov.uk/government/publications/asylum-transparency-data-august-2019



Asylum Transparency Data - August 2019 
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Domestic Abuse Bill (Draft)

baroness penn: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect to publish a further response to the report by the Joint Committee on the Draft Domestic Abuse Bill, published on 14 June 2019, Session 2017–19 (HL Paper 378, HC 2075), as committed to in their response to the report, published in July 2019 (CP 137).

baroness williams of trafford: We indicated in our initial response to the Joint Committee’s report, published in July 2019, that we would publish a further response in due course addressing around ten recommendations where we needed more time to fully consider the Committee’s proposals.We aim to publish that further response alongside the Domestic Abuse Bill. As the Leader of the House of Commons has indicated (Official Report, House of Commons, 23 January 2020, column 423), we expect to re-introduce the Bill ahead of the Easter recess.

Domestic Abuse: Immigrants

baroness penn: To ask Her Majesty's Government when their review into the statutory response to migrant victims of domestic abuse will be completed; and whether they intend to publish the outcome of that review.

baroness williams of trafford: Domestic abuse is a heinous crime and the Government is committed to strengthening its overall response and supporting all survivors.The evidence gathering phase of the review of support levels for migrant victims of domestic abuse has now been completed and the Government is considering the way forward in the light of the findings.

Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence

baroness penn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what recentassessmentthey have made of the progress made towards ratification of the Istanbul Convention, including with regards to any forthcoming Domestic Abuse Bill.

baroness williams of trafford: In accordance with the Preventing and Combating Violence Against Women and Domestic Violence (Ratification of Convention) Act 2017, the Government publishes an annual report on progress towards ratification of the Istanbul Convention.The most recent annual report was published on 31 October 2019 and is available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/843509/CCS0919132732-001_Istanbul_Convention_2019_Report_Option_A_Web_Accessible.pdfThe landmark Domestic Abuse Bill was announced alongside the Queen’s Speech on 19 December 2019. Subject to parliamentary approval, we are fully committed to enacting this landmark legislation at the earliest opportunity and implementing it quickly.



Instanbul Convention 2019 - Report 
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Treasury

Income Tax: Pensioners

baroness altmann: To ask Her Majesty's Government what percentage of pensioners paid tax at (1) 40per cent, and (2) 45per cent, in the last tax year.

lord agnew of oulton: The answer given on 15th July 2019 to HL 16778, contains the information requested for the last tax year, 2018-19, and remains HM Revenue and Customs’ most recent estimate of the data requested.

Credit Unions

lord kennedy of southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they provide to the credit union sector in theUK.

lord kennedy of southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the adequacy of the regulation of credit unions.

lord agnew of oulton: At Autumn Budget 2018, the Government announced a package of measures to support credit unions, and other social and community lenders, including:A £2 million affordable credit challenge fund, harnessing the UK’s FinTech sector to address challenges faced by social and community lenders, including credit unions. Six finalists were selected in October 2019, receiving initial funding of £150,000.A change in the regulatory boundary of credit broking to make it easier for registered social landlords such as housing associations to refer their tenants to social and community lenders.A prize-linked savings pilot scheme, to encourage the growth of the credit union sector, and encourage consumers to build up their personal savings. This pilot launched on 17 October, International Credit Union Day, in 15 credit unions across the country. Over 6,000 accounts had been opened by the end of January 2020.A feasibility study for a UK No-Interest Loans Scheme.Regulation of the credit union sector is a matter for the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA). The PRA concluded a consultation on a simplified, proportional capital requirement regime for credit unions on 24 January 2020.